1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a degreasing apparatus for elongated members and its principal object is to provide a degreasing apparatus capable of performing sure and easy degreasing of oil, grease films or the like attached on the surfaces of elongated members and achieving a size reduction of the overall apparatus for convenience in coupling the apparatus to its preceding and/or subsequent processing or machining apparatus such as, for example, a drawing machine and roller straightening machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When an elongated metallic member is subjected to plastic processing, a lubricant is employed whether the material is a solid rod or hollow rod. Thus, as has already been known, it is important in the quality of the final product to remove as a post treatment stains or films of oil or grease such as the lubricant. Particularly, such a degreasing treatment is indispensable for raw materials made of zirconium or a zirconium alloy as such raw materials tend to develop pits, ruggedness or uneveness on their surfaces, or white spots on their surfaces during treatment in a final autoclave. This degreasing has conventionally been carried out principally by simply throwing them into a degreasing liquid. However, such a conventional degreasing method is not only insufficient to completely degrease the members but also constitutes an obstacle for automation of the production process, thereby resulting in a main cause for inefficient productivity.